Ezekiel 17:3-8

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

A great eagle with great wings and long pinions,
    rich in plumage of many colors,
    came to the Lebanon.
He took the top of the cedar,^(A)
4     broke off its topmost shoot;
he carried it to a land of trade,
    set it in a city of merchants.
⁵ Then he took a seedling from the land,
    placed it in fertile soil;
a plant^[a] by abundant waters,
    he set it like a willow twig.^(B)
6 It sprouted and became a vine
    spreading out but low;
its branches turned toward him;
    its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine;
    it brought forth branches,
    put forth foliage.

⁷ There was another great eagle
    with great wings and much plumage.
And see! This vine stretched out
    its roots toward him;
it shot out its branches toward him
    from the bed where it was planted
    so that he might water it.^(C)
8 It had been transplanted
    to good soil by abundant waters,
so that it might produce branches
    and bear fruit
    and become a noble vine.